Apparatus for the wet-treatment of loose material,particularly textile material



Dec. 1, 1970 V H. FLEISSNER 3,543,543

APPARATUS FOR THE WET-TREATMENT 0F LOOSE MATERIAL, PARTICULARLY TEXTILE MATERIAL Filed Dec. 2, 1968 Mwmor:

' lie/Me Flt-738N679 United States Patent APPARATUS FOR THE WET-TREATMENT OF LOOSE MATERIAL, PARTICULARLY TEX- TILE MATERIAL Heinz Fleissner, Egelsbach, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignor to VEPA AG, Basel, Switzerland Filed Dec. 2, 1968, Ser. No. 780,362 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 1, 1967,

Int. Cl. D06f 17/0 2, 39/10, 45/12 US. Cl. 68-22 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is directed to a process and apparatus for the wet-treatment of fibrous material which comprises introducing the material to be treated into a treatment bath containing a treatment liquid, floating said material on the surface of said treatment liquid and conveying said material on the surface of at least one conveying element, thereby penetrating the material with the treatment liquid which flows from the outside to the inside of the conveying element due to a differential liquid level between the inside and outside of said conveying element, and returning the liquid to the treatment bath uniformly over the entire working width of the conveying elements. The present disclosure is particularly adaptable to the Wet-treatment of raw wool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for the wet-treatment of loose, preferably fibrous material, and particularly for the scouring of raw wool. According to the present invention, a liquid container and at least one conveying element, for example a sieve drum is utilized. The sieve drum is at least partially immersed in a treatment liquid which flows from the outside to the inside of the conveying element whereby at least part of the liquid drawn into said conveying element is returned into the bowl, preferably through a distribution box. Advantageously, a floating distance is provided for the textile material.

Devices with sieve drums subjected to a suction draft for washing and impregnating textile materials, especially loose fibrous materials are well known. It is also well known that the washing and/or impregnating eifect is very intensive and uniform in such devices. In the well known devices the suction draft is produced by one or several pumps which are arranged in the sieve drum,

and the liquid is discharged from the sieve drum at' the faces. However, also sieve drum bowls are well known in which the pumping devices are located outside the sieve drum, and in which a suction pipe extends into the sieve drum or is connected with the sieve drum bottom. The known devices have generally a relatively small maximum working width of about 1 to 1 /2 in.

In principle, it is possible to design sieve drum bowls in which the pumps are arranged in the drums with any desired working width. However, the installed pump capacity must be very high for producing an adequate suction draft, and with large working widths, a great number of pumps must be provided in the sieve drums. Also, the internal design of the sieve drums is relatively complicated.

For the treatment of material lengths it has already been suggested to effect the penetration of the material solely by the differential liquid level between the liquid which is supplied to the drum and the liquid which flows out of the drum. This offers the advantage that even with large working Widths a uniform penetration of the material is effected and that a good Washing effect is obtained with a relatively low pump capacity. Furthermore, the design of such a device is extremely simple.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to avoid the prior art disadvantages in the wet-treatment of loose material, particularly textile material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved process and apparatus for the wettreatment of textile materials wherein the capacity of the treatment process is substantially improved.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved process and apparatus for the wet-treatment of textile materials wherein large working widths of the material being treated can be readily accommodated.

Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Pursuant to the present invention, it has been found that the above-mentioned disadvantages may be eliminated and a much improved process and apparatus for the Wet-treatment of loose material, for example raw wool, may be obtained by providing that the material penetration be effected by means of a differential liquid level and by arranging at least at one face of the con veying element, for example a sieve drum, a collecting container with a pump which pumps the liquid flowing out of the conveying element into the collecting container and back into the treatment bath.

In order to obtain a smooth flow in the treatment bath, it is expedient to connect the collecting container with a distribution box which advantageously extends over the entire working width of the treatment bowl, and to return the liquid into the bowl through the distribution box. To facilitate the dirt separation and to obtain a slight flow in the direction of material passage, it is furthermore suggested to arrange the distribution box at the beginning of a floating distance, as seen in the direction of material passage.

The pump for returning the treatment liquid into the treatment bath and for producing a differential liquid level in the treatment bath and in the collecting container is advantageously arranged in the bottom of the collecting container. In this Way, it is possible to take the pump and the pump drive as one single assembly, out of the bowl, which facilitates the replacement of the whole assembly in case of disturbances.

Especially for large working widths, it is suggested to provide one collecting container each at the two sides of the sieve drum and/or the conveying element and to preferably connect each collecting container with a distribution box or subdivide the distribution box into two spaces which are separated from each other. The two spaces of the distribution box or the two distribution boxes should extend over the entire working width of the bowl. In this way, it is possible to compensate for flow speed variations over the working width in case such varying speeds should occur when the liquid is returned into the bowl.

A particularly effective apparatus results if the individual conveying elements, for example sieve drums, have one common collecting container, and if the liquid which flows out of the sieve drums is pumped back into the treatment bowl by means of a common pumping device. In this case, it is quite possible and expedient to return the liquid through several distribution boxes which are provided at the beginning of each floating distance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein,

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross section of the apparatus of the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the apparatus of the present invention according to FIG. 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views to designate like parts, the apparatus of the present invention comprises a container 1 which is filled with liquid and which is subdivided by a perforated sheet 2 into an upper treatment space 3 and a lower dirt-sediment space 4. In the treatment liquid sieve drums 5 are disposed at a certain distance from each other. A face of the sieve drum 5 is closed in a liquid-tight manner by means of a bottom 6, and the other face is formed by a drum spider 7. At this side of the sieve drum the liquid which flows into the drum 5 may flow out into a lateral collecting container 8, from where it is forced into a distribution box by means of a pump 9. From the distribution box it flows back into the treatment bath uniformly distributed over the entire working width. The distribution boxes 10 are arranged directly underneath the perforated sheet 2 so that the perforated sheet 2 serves as a damming element and thus for the equalization of the liquid which flows out of the distribution box 10. If necessary, additional guiding elements (not shown) may also be arranged for a uniform liquid distribution of the treatment medium over the entire working width. A material 11 to be processed, for example raw wool, is floated in the liquid at the inlet of the bowl, drawn to the sieve drum by the liquid flowing into the sieve drum and transported onto a subsequent floating distance 12. The liquid flows through the sieve drum as a result of the differential liquid level in the bowl and in the collecting container 8.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown, the cross section of the distribution box has a shape of a triangle or of a trapezoid, that is the cross section of the distribution box narrows in the direction of the liquid flow to ensure a better distribution of the liquid.

The pump 9 and its drive 13 are designed as one unit which is supported on a plate 14. On this plate 14 also a drum bearing ;15 is situated. For removing the mud which, in the scouring of raw wool, settles at the bottom of the container, a worm conveyor 16 is used which passes the mud to a sludge removal valve (not shown). At the end of the bowl a squeezer 17 is arranged.

Such a device with, for example, only one drum and associated floating zone, is well suited for washing and rinsing processes in the continuous dyeing and bleaching ranges for loose fibrous materials. In such devices generally the lower part of the bowl, that is the dirt sediment space, is disposed of.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be apparent to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

It is claimed:

1. An apparatus for the wet-treatment of fibrous material which comprises a container provided with a treatment liquid, at least one perforated conveying means rotatably disposed within said container and at least partially immersed in the treatment liquid, a floating zone provided in front of each of the conveying means, means for introducing the material to be treated to the container, laterial collecting container means communicating with at least one face of the conveying means, distribution box means communicating with both the lateral collecting container means and the conveying surface of the perforated conveying means, said lateral collecting container means containing at least one pump means which pumps the liquid which flows out of the conveying means and into said lateral collecting container, through the distribution box and returns it to the container, and outlet means for removing the material being treated from the container.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distribution box extends over the entire working width of the container.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the distribution box has an outlet at the inlet of the container at the beginning of the floating zone in front of the first conveying means so that a current is produced in the container in the direction of material passage.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the distribution box is in the form of a triangle which narrows in the direction of the liquid flow to ensure a better distribution of the liquid.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one lateral collecting container means is provided at each of the two faces of the conveying means, each of said collecting containers communicating with one distribution box.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the distribution box is divided into two spaces which are separated from each other.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when using more than one conveying means, one common collecting container and a common pumping device, the treatment liquid is returned to the container through several distribution boxes provided at the beginning of each of the floating zones.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pump is arranged in the bottom of the lateral collecting container means.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pump and the pump drive form one exchangeable unit.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, with a plurality of conveying elements wherein at least two conveying elements each have one common collecting container.

11. An apparatus for the wet-treatment of fibrous material which comprises a container provided with a treatment liquid, at least one sieve drum means rotatably disposed in the container and at least partially immensed in the treatment liquid, one face of the sieve drum means being closed by a liquid-tight bottom means and the other face being open and formed by a drum spider means, a floating zone provided in front of each of the conveying means, lateral collecting container means communicating with the open faces of the sieve drum means, distribution box means communicating with both the lateral collecting container means and the conveying surface of the sieve drum means, pump means associated with the open end of each of said sieve drum means and disposed in the lower portion of the lateral collecting container means, said pump means pumping the treatment liquid which flows out of the sieve drum and into said lateral collecting container, through the distribution box and returning it to the container, and outlet means for removing the material being treated from the container.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the outlet means are squeeze roller means.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the container is divided into an upper treatment space and a lower dirt sediment space by a perforated sheet which is disposed 15 between the sieve drum means and the distribution 'box.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cross section of the distribution boX narrows in the direction of the closed end of the sieve drum means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 68158, 184 

